---

27 Feb 2006 : Column 152W—continued

Local Government Finance

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much funding Lancashire council received from his Department (a) in total, (b) per mile of road and (c) per head of population in each year since 1997–98. [53391]

Dr. Ladyman: Table 1, which follows shows the total funding allocated to Lancashire council in the local transport capital settlements in each year between 1997–98 and 2005–06 (inclusive) in terms of (a) totals (b) per mile of road and (c) per head of population.
Table 1: Funding totals per mile and per head

Lancashire council	1997–98	1998–99	1999–2000	2000–01	2001–02	2002–03	2003–04	2004–05	2005–06
Total funding (£000)	11,006	7,155	9,681	11,532	27,830	30,730	25,388	29,209	25,865
Road Mileage (2004)	4,929	4,288	4,288	4,288	4,288	4,288	4,288	4,288	4,288
Funds (£000) per mile	2.23	1.66	2.25	2.68	6.49	7.16	5.92	6.81	6.03
Population (Thousand) (2004)	1,434.9	1,152.0	1,152.0	1,152.0	1,152.0	1,152.0	1,152.0	1,152.0	1,152.0
Fund (£ per head)	7.67	6.21	8.40	10.0	24.15	26.67	22.03	25.35	22.45

Note:
The 1997–98 figures include Blackpool and Blackburn, which were part of Lancashire pre-reorganisation.

M60

Mr. Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the projected outturn is against planned expenditure on the M60 widening scheme. [52715]

Dr. Ladyman: The M60 J5 to J8 widening scheme is under construction and completion is expected in May 2006. On 19 December 2005 I placed a table in the Library setting out the costs for schemes in the Targeted Programme of Improvements. This included the M60 J5 to J8 widening scheme at a cost of £116 million. The tender cost at the start of construction work was £134.4 million. The current projected outturn cost including all historical costs for preparation, construction, ancillary works, land and non-recoverable VAT is £139.5 million.
 
27 Feb 2006 : Column 153W
 

Mobile Phones (Dangerous Driving)

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to make drivers aware of the dangers of using a mobile telephone while driving. [52032]

Dr. Ladyman: I refer my hon. Friend to my answer of 9 January 2006, Official Report, column 19W.

Motor Vehicle Driving Licences

Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his plans are for changing the regime in respect of motor vehicle driving licences; what the reasons are for the changes; and if he will make a statement. [53537]

Dr. Ladyman: There are a number of initiatives underway that involve potential changes to driver licensing.

The Road Safety Bill as originally published contained provision for the removal of the paper counterpart. This is the paper section of the two-part licence and currently has to be produced with the plastic card licence. The Bill also contained a provision for the compulsory surrender of old-form licences. On the 29 November, however, the House of Lords voted to remove this provision from the Bill. No further decisions have as yet been taken about this matter.

The European Commission (EC) made proposals in December 2003 for a third directive on driving licences. This would place obligations upon the United Kingdom as upon all other member states. The EC believed that its proposals would help to combat fraud, improve road safety and facilitate free movement between member states. The proposed directive remains under negotiation in the Council of Ministers, and under consideration by the European Parliament.

DVLA is also in the process of replacing its driving licence card production facility. This is to address the increasing threat posed by counterfeiters to driving licence security. The new cards will contain a number of state of the art high security features. Completion is planned by the end of next year.

Motorways (Heavy Vehicle Restrictions)

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the trial on the M42 of restricting heavy vehicles to the inside lane. [54035]

Dr. Ladyman: At present it is too early to assess the effectiveness of the trial restricting heavy vehicles to the inside lane of a three mile length of the M42. The restriction was introduced on 10 October last year for an experimental period of 18 months.

The restriction is currently suspended due to the need for essential maintenance work. It is proposed that the trial will resume in April when the Highways Agency will continue monitoring to assess what benefits have resulted. The Agency welcomes comments from all road users as part of this process.
 
27 Feb 2006 : Column 154W
 

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has assessed the merits of the M27/M3 junction as a suitable site to trial the restriction of slow moving vehicles to the inside lane. [54036]

Dr. Ladyman: No assessment has been made of the suitability of the M27/M3 junction for a trial to restrict slow moving vehicles to the inside lane. Decisions on whether or not to introduce such restrictions at other locations on the motorway network would be taken on a case by case basis and take into consideration the trial on the M42.

Network Rail

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what (a) financial and (b) other incentives are in place to improve the efficiency of Network Rail. [53082]

Derek Twigg: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 16 February 2006, Official Report, column 2411W.

Number Plate Recognition System

Mr. Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what legislation enables the proposed scheme to extend the automatic number plate recognition system throughout the motorway network. [53007]

Dr. Ladyman: The Highways Agency use automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras on the motorway network for the purpose of managing traffic on behalf of the Secretary of State who has general and specific legislative duties to do so under the Highways Act 1980. The Secretary of State also has powers to regulate traffic under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984.

Off-peak Rail Fares

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate his Department has made of the likely change in the number of off-peak rail users as a result of a removal of the cap on saver rail fares. [52690]

Derek Twigg: No decision on the future regulation of Saver Return fares has yet been taken. However, in the absence of regulation, it is likely that train operators would retain Saver fares or create alternatives using modern revenue-management techniques to retain existing passengers and gain new ones.

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his Department plans to make an environmental impact assessment of its plans to allow rail companies to remove off-peak saver fares on trains. [52691]

Derek Twigg: No decision on the future regulation of Saver Return fares has yet been taken. However, in the absence of any regulation of these fares, it is likely that train operators would retain Saver fares and/or create alternative fares using modern revenue-management techniques to retain existing passengers and gain new ones. Any change to the impact on the environment is therefore likely to be negligible and no Environmental Impact Assessment is planned.
 
27 Feb 2006 : Column 155W
 

Ormskirk Bypass

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with the Highways Agency on a bypass for Ormskirk. [53389]

Dr. Ladyman: The Secretary of State for Transport has had no recent discussions with the Highways Agency regarding a bypass for Ormskirk. This scheme is now being progressed as a local highway scheme by Lancashire county council through their local transport plan.

---